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WEEKLY
Volume 4 Number 39
21 February 2010
Faith in God
(Message delivered by Rev Hien Nguyen at the
Worship Service, 2:00 pm, Feb 21, 10)
Text: Heb 11:1
Many in this world are deceiving
themselves or deceived by others by believing that they are alright or
they can save themselves by their good works or by their religious
practices. How about their faith? They may strongly believe in
themselves or in their religious leaders and their teachings, but does
their faith really save them or support them before the holy and
righteous God on the Judgment Day? Absolutely not outside of Christ! How
can we be so sure about that? It is God’s Word that says so, “Neither
is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under
heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12), and,
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves:
it is the gift of God” (Eph 2:8). Then, we can be sure that we are
not saved by our good works or merits or anything we have done but by
God’s grace through faith in Christ alone. Last week, we meditated on
God’s amazing grace, even His saving grace, which He has mercifully
bestowed upon us and graciously called us, chosen us and saved us, His
sinful, rebellious and unworthy creatures. Today, let us meditate on our
faith in God and in our Lord Jesus Christ and in His Word.
What is your answer when someone asks
you, “I see that you trust in God and in the Bible. Can you share with
me about your faith? I am so sorry that I do not have any faith at all.”
Actually, there are general faith and saving faith, and you and I use
our general faith daily, and we cannot live without it. Many take a bus,
a train or an airplane without any doubt about the drivers or the
pilots. Many post their letters without any doubt about the postal
delivery systems. Many read the newspapers without any doubt about the
editors or authors, and so forth. Therefore, it is wrong if someone says
that he has no faith at all, but it is right if he says that he has no
faith in God and in God’s Word at all. The opposite of faith is
disbelief and doubt. We shall live a miserable life if we doubt our
parents, not knowing for sure if they are really our father and mother
or if they love us and care for us. We shall trouble ourselves if we are
doubtful about everyone and everything—our parents, our teachers, our
friends, the information from the world history, electric appliances or
electronic devices, etc. However, it is ironic that many easily trust in
men and their words but doubt God their Creator and His Word, and that
many strongly trust in their religious leaders and their teachings but
doubt the Saviour Jesus Christ and His teachings, and that many believe
in human philosophies and theories like Darwinism, but doubt God’s
Truth, the Holy Scriptures! Then, the saving faith, the faith that helps
you and me wholeheartedly trust in God, in Jesus Christ and in His Word
so that we may be saved must come from God Himself alone. Truly, “it
is the gift of God” (Eph 2:8-9) and “faith cometh by hearing, and
hearing by the word of God” (Rom 10:17), and “Looking unto Jesus
the author and finisher of our faith” (Heb 12:2). Thus, to share
with others about our faith, we must share with them about our God, our
Saviour Jesus Christ and His Word and about what God, our Saviour Jesus
Christ and His Word have done in our lives.
The Saving Faith in God
It is unbiblical if we separate the
saving faith from God, from our Saviour Jesus Christ and from God’s
Word. When God’s Word says, “The just shall live by faith” (Hab
2:4; Rom 1:17; Gal 3:11; Heb 10:38), we must understand that the just
shall live by faith in God, in the Lord Jesus Christ, and in God’s Word.
Exactly, our Lord Jesus Christ commands, “Have faith in God”
(Mark 11:22). The biblical faith is “the substance of things hoped
for, the evidence of things not seen” (Heb 11:1). The Greek term for
faith is pistis; and with 244 occurrences, the KJV translates as
“faith” 239 times, “assurance” once, “believe” once, “belief” once, etc.
“Subjectively meaning firm persuasion, conviction, belief in the
truth, veracity, reality or faithfulness (though rare). Objectively
meaning that which is believed, doctrine, the received articles of
faith… "faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence
of things not seen" means that persuasion is not the outcome of
imagination but is based on fact, such as the reality of the
resurrection of Christ (1 Cor. 15), and as such it becomes the basis of
realistic hope” (Zodhiates).
According to Hebrews chapter 11,
“faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not
seen.” The first part of faith “is the substance of things we
hope for.” The substance here in Greek is hupostasis, and
with five occurrences, and the KJV translates as “confidence” twice,
“confident” once, “person” once, and “substance” once. It is “the
ground of confidence, assurance, guarantee, or proof…Substance, what
really exists under any appearance, reality, essential nature” (Zodhiates).
Then, our hope must have the foundation of our confidence in God, in our
Saviour Jesus Christ and in His Word/Truth, without whom and which, our
hope is vain. Our faith, hope or confidence cannot be based on men or
human ideas, teachings, philosophies, imaginations or arguments. Whether
many believe or not, truth is truth and fact is fact. The reality is
that God does exist and is true, and that His Truth is His divinely
inspired and divinely preserved Word given to mankind, and that the Lord
Jesus Christ did come, die and rise again for the salvation of all
mankind, especially for those who believe in Him. We are sure that we
are saved in Christ with a hope that some day He will come to take us up
to be with Him forever because God is true and His Word is true, “For
God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life”
(John 3:16), and “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will
come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may
be also” (John 14:3). While we are living in this sinful and
troubled world, we can trust and hope in God (His sovereignty, love,
grace, mercy, faithfulness, power, etc.) and in His Word (His promises
and revelation), and we can enjoy His peace. Thus, we can say, “I
live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for
me” (Gal 2:20).
The second part of faith supplements
the first part, and that is “the evidence (conviction) of
things not seen.” Evidence in Greek is élegchos; and with two
occurrences, the KJV translates as “evidence” once and “reproof” once (2
Tim 3:16). Then, even though we have not seen God, we have enough
evidence to believe that He is true and we trust in Him with full
conviction because of His creation, His Word, His Son Jesus Christ, and
the testimonies or witness of His true servants and children. Many
require to see and then to believe like Thomas, but Jesus Christ says,
“blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed”
(John 20:29). Though we were not there when our Saviour Jesus Christ
died and rose again for us, we believe in Him because God’s Word
confirms, “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also
received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according
to the scriptures” (1 Cor 15:3-4). Though we have not seen Christ in
our worship or our daily lives with our physical eyes, we trust that He
is always with us as He promises, “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto
the end of the world” (Matt 28:20), and we can enjoy His peace and
joy, “Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him
not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory”
(1 Peter 1:8). Though we have not seen the autograph of the Holy
Scriptures, we believe that God has preserved His inspired Word for us
in the Hebrew and Greek texts underlying the KJV
Bible because His Word says so, “The words of the LORD are
pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.
Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this
generation for ever” (Ps 12:6-7), and “For verily I say unto you,
Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass
from the law, till all be fulfilled…Heaven and earth shall pass away,
but my words shall not pass away” (Matt 5:18; 24:35). Dear friends,
our saving faith is built on God’s fact and truth, which is God’s
written Word, the Holy Scriptures, and His living Word, our Saviour
Jesus Christ. Do you and I wholeheartedly believe in and live by Him and
His Word? “For we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor 5:7).
How to Grow in Faith in God and in
His Word
We are to keep on growing in God’s
grace and knowledge (2 Peter 3:18), and our faith should grow
exceedingly (1 Thess 1:3). We are justified and saved by our faith in
Christ (Rom 5:1; Eph 2:8), but we should not stop there. We are to be
purified and sanctified by our faith in Christ (Acts 15:9; 26:18), to
show our work of faith in Christ and in God’s Word (1 Thess 1:3), to
contend for our faith in Christ and in God’s Word (Jude 3), to fight a
good fight of faith in Christ and in God’s Word (1 Tim 6:12) and to keep
our faith in Christ and in His Word until death (2 Tim 4:7). Then how
can we grow in our faith in Christ and in God’s Word?
Hear, Read and Keep God’s Word:
Our faith is based on the foundation of God’s Word, “So then faith
cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Rom 10:17).
Satan still tries his best to cast doubt on God’s Word to weaken, shake
the faith of many, and turn them away from the faith in God (Acts 13:8).
Then, you and I must wisely shut our ears to strangers’ voice (from
false teachers, false prophets, false brethren, non-Bible-believing
critics or scholars, etc.) and open our ears to our good Shepherd’s
voice (God’s Word) alone, and hear, read, and keep God’s Word so that we
may grow in our faith in Him and in His Word.
Look unto Our Lord Jesus Christ:
“Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith” (Heb
12:2). Instead of looking at men, our problems, difficulties or trials,
or ourselves, let us wisely look unto our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,
who is able to give faith to us and fulfill our faith in Him and in His
Word and promises. When we lack our faith in our Lord and in His Word
due to our great trials, difficulties or the impossible, we just look
unto our Lord and pray to Him like His apostles, “Increase our faith”
(Luke 17:5). Moreover, we must humbly thank our Lord for His prayer that
we still stand firm and have faith in Him and in His Word despite the
attacks from Satan, “Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift
you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not”
(Luke 22:31-32).
Grow in God’s Knowledge:
The more we know God and His sovereignty, His power, His faithfulness,
His goodness, etc, the more we shall put our faith/trust in Him. Let us
wisely seek Him and “count all things but loss for the excellency of
the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss
of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ”
(Phil 3:8).
Conclusion
Dear friends, it is vital to have
faith in God, in our Lord Jesus Christ and in His Word “for
whatsoever is not of faith is sin” (Rom 14:23) and “without faith
it is impossible to please him” (Heb 11:6). Only having faith in our
Lord and in His Word shall we have victory (1 John 5:4) over sin, Satan,
and the world. Our faith in our Lord and God’s Word is “the shield of
faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the
wicked” (Eph 6:16). May God help you and me wisely read and keep His
Word, look unto our Lord Jesus Christ and know more about Him so that we
may grow in grace and faith and then fight a good fight of faith and
keep our faith in God and in His Word until death. Amen.
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